Former DLSU History professor wants August 21 removed as a NATIONAL holiday. Instead, he wants it declared as provincial holiday in Tarlac

Well, if you a huge fan of Ninoy Aquino, I warned you in advance not to read the Facebook post of this brave former DLSU history professor because this would definitely make your blood boils in anger!

If you are a Ninoy Aquino fan, who wouldn’ be mad at History professor Van Ybiernas for proposing that August 21 should be remove as a NATIONAL holiday and worse, relegate it as a provincial holiday in Tarlac?

However, if you are open-minded and willing to listen to his reasons because as a historian, he knows better than most of us with regards to issues like this.

If you are a non-Aquino fan, you will fall in love Van Ybiernas because the guy is the complete opposite of GMA News analyst Richard Heydarian. Lol

Moving forward to the Ybiernas arguments why August 21 should be remove as a NATIONAL holiday, I reckon who would do justice in explaining his reasons other than the guy himself, right?

So without further adieu, I urge you to start reading Van Ybiernas full FB post below why he questioned Ninoy Aquino having a NATIONAL holiday just like Rizal and Bonifacio.

Ninoy Aquino Day bukas…

At some point we have to remove this as a NATIONAL holiday and make it a provincial holiday in Tarlac.

Yung Ninoy Aquino ang walang sariling naratibo NA MATIBAY unless ikabit siya —na siyang ginagawa ng mga Dilaw— sa “kasamaan” ni Marcos. Medyo na-unsettle na ito in recent years dahil sa changing landscape sa national politics. Ninoy Aquino should have been allowed to fade into history during the heydays of Yellow politics. Pero, Ninoy’s memory was never allowed to die a natural death. Hindi siya pinabayaang tumawid sa kasaysayan. Ngayon, yung naratibo ng late 80s, 90s at kahit 2000s ay na-unsettle. The people of 2019 no longer see Ninoy the same way the people of 1983 saw him. The people of 2019 also see Marcos differently from the people of 1983.

Sure, some seek to distort history. But others simply wish to punish Ninoy together with his wife and children for what they have collectively FAILED to do for the country, despite their glittering promises. People of the 1980s applauded Ninoy and like-minded people as they sought to sabotage the country’s economy and political stability in order to bring about Marcos’s downfall. But the people of 2019 no longer see that positively. People of the 1980s ignored Ninoy’s ties with the communist insurgents but the people of 2019 will not. People of the 1980s believed Ninoy’s narrative of a reformed trapo who was only seeking to save the country from Marcos. But the people of 2019 no longer believe that, choosing to believe instead that it is part of the broader narrative to cast Marcos negatively and lead to his downfall, so that Ninoy may take over.

Ninoy Aquino’s position in history is volatile. Some people think that’s because of historical distortion or some sort of post-truth phenomenon. They’d be wrong. Ninoy Aquino critics of 2019 may lack the ability to find the right words to express how they feel, as such falling prey to historical distortion and post-truth. But these people will eventually find their voices and express their true sentiments: Ninoy Aquino’s “heroism” is quite untenable for them.

Sooner or later, we will have to re-evaluate Ninoy Aquino Day and ask whether or not this national holiday is truly deserved